Gas turbine railway car

ABSTRACT

A high-speed passenger train comprises two identical traction cars, having an engineer&#39;&#39;s cab at one end, powered by variable speed gas turbines connected to the bogie wheels by hydromechanical transmission systems, with one or more trailer cars between the traction cars, one of which can be provided with restaurant facilities.

United States Patent 1 Pelabon GAS TURBINE RAILWAY CAR [76] Inventor:Andre E. Pelabon, 68 Avenue Henri Martin, Paris 16, France [22] Filed:Apr. 13, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 350,807

[52] US. Cl. 105/1 R, 105/26 R, 105/36, l05/6l.5, IDS/96.2, 105/329 R,105/342,

[51] Int. Cl. B6lc 5/00, B6lc 9/34, B6ld l/OO Field of Search 105/1 R,26 R, 36, 61.5, 105/962, 329 R, 342, 452, 456, 4 R; 188/296 [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,342,724 2/1944 Candee 105/4 R 1Mar. 4, 1975 3,457,877 7/1969 Ostermeyer l05/6l.5 3,561,367 2/1971 Blacketal l05/6l.5

Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr. Assistant E.\'aminerl-iowardBeltran [57] ABSTRACT A high-speed passenger train comprises twoidentical traction cars, having an engineers cab at one end, powered byvariable speed gas turbines connected to the bogie wheels byhydro-mechanical transmission systems, with one or more trailer carsbetween the traction cars, one of which can be provided with restaurantfacilities.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEUHAR 3,868,908

SHEET 1 0F 3 F H 2 I 2 01 1 GAS TURBINE RAILWAY CAR The inventionconcerns a railway vehicle propelled by a gas turbine.

The evolution in modern techniques makes it incumbent upon us toincrease the running speed of railway vehicles.

Standard methods such as electric or diesel traction do not enable thesatisfactory achievement of this result, either because of the extensiveinvestment required in the electrification of railway rights or way, orbecause of the weight and size of the high-powered electric or dieselengines.

One recognized method has been the installing of a jet engine on the topof a traction car, but the speed of acceleration when using jetpropulsion is insufficient and, in addition, the resulting noise isextremely loud and cannot be adequately deadened.

A favorable power output is possible only if the power is transmitteddirectly to the driving wheels of the vehicle.

In the light of the foregoing, a solution has emerged involving the useof a gas turbine engine with mechanical or hydromechanical transmissiondirectly connected to the wheels of a railway vehicle.

In the early stages of application of turbines to railway vehicles, thetrain was started by means of a piston engine, and as the train gatheredspeed the turbine gradually took over.

The purpose of the present invention is to achieve a significantapplication to railway vehicles of the special properties of gasturbines (great power output and small size). To this end, theself-propelled train covered by this invention is equipped with twoidentical power cars each of which has a variable-speed turbine andpulls one or more trailers devoted to passenger conveyance.

Each of the power cars has an engineers cab up front, followed by acompletely soundproof compartment reserved for the propulsion of thetrain, including one main turbine equipped with its accessories such asair suction filter unit, gas exhaust outlet, etc.

An auxiliary engine in the main turbine compartment drives an alternatorfor supplying electricity to the train as a whole, for air conditioning,etc. This auxiliary engine can be either a gas turbine or a pistonengine.

The main engine is a turbine engine with a so-called free turbine"supplying a high starting torque; it drives the two axles of the frontbogie of the traction car by means of a mechanical or hydraulictransmission, or by the combination of the two systems. The gear-boxmechanism also enables the driving of the second bogie of the power car.

The fully soundproofed passenger compartment is separated from theturbine compartment by a baggage storage compartment, thereby furtherreinforcing the soundproofing of the passenger compartment and thusenhancing passenger comfort.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a preferred form of highspeed gas turbinepowered railway train made in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-section showing the interior layout of thecars comprising the train of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a similar cross-section on an enlarged scale showing detailsof the interior layout of one of the two identical traction cars, and;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-section of the hydraulic transmission andbraking mechanism through which the main gas turbine engine suppliespower to a traction bogie.

In a preferred example, the train comprises two identically constructedtraction cars 10 and 10a, which face in opposite directions, with one ormore trailer cars 11, 12 and 13 coupled between them. Each of thetrailer cars is supported on a pair of trailer bogies 14 so that theymay be (unlike some of the high-speed trains in use today, in which twoadjacent cars are supportedat their ends on a common bogie) coupled anduncoupled without difficulty, when it is necessary to remove, orreplace, a car for repairs or to change the consist of the train. Thetraction cars are also supported on two bogies, one of which 14, may beidentical with those used on the trailer cars, While the forward bogie15, while identical to the others insofar as the suspension and brakingsystems is concerned, is provided with transmission mechanisms fordriving the wheels of that bogie from the drive shaft of a prime movercontained in the car. While trailer, and traction, bogies suitable foruse are well known, a particular form of suspension system is disclosedand claimed in my copending application Ser. No. 350,805 filedconcurrently with this application a system for transmitting propulsionand braking forces between a traction bogie and a car is disclosed andclaimed in my copending application Ser. No. 350,804 filed concurrentlywith this application; and a system for transmitting propulsion from thecar by a bogie is disclosed and claimed in my copending application Ser.No. 350,804 filed concurrently with this application.

Because both of the traction cars 10 and 10a are identicallyconstructed, it will be necessary to describe only one of them indetail. In general, each of them comprises an engineers compartment 16,an air intake compartment 17, a turbine compartment 18, transmissionmechanism compartment 19, baggage compartment 20, passenger compartment21, rear platform 22, toilet compartment 23, and a cabinet 24.formiscellaneous electrical equipment.

While the physical layout of the interior of the trailer cars isimmaterial, in the drawings cars 11 and 13 represent two arrangementsfor seating passengers, while car 12 is a form of club car, containing apassenger seating area 25, a food and beverage preparation area 26,snack bar 27, and dining area 28.

Propulsive power for the traction car is supplied by a main gas turbineengine 29 whose output shaft 30 is connected to a transmission 31 whichmay comprise a combination of a fluid coupling and fluid torqueconverter, or any other form of variable speed transmission, the outputof which is transmitted by a cardan shaft to a gear box mechanism onone, or both, of the axles of the front bogie 15, or in the case of thecar 10a, the trailing bogie 15a by means which are well known. While itis usual to operate the train, especially during starting, with bothmain turbines running, it is possible to use either the engine in theleading car or the one in the trailing car alone, and obviously if thetransmission in the leading car is operated in forward gear, thetransmission in the trailing car must be operated in reverse, unless thedirection of the train is reversed, at which time the previouslytrailing traction car becomes the leading one.

Electricity for supplying the various devices on the train, such aslights, air conditioning, pumps, food preparation equipment, etc. issupplied by a threephase alternator 32, directly coupled to an auxiliarygas turbine 33, also placed in the engine compartment 18 of eachtraction car and, only one alternator is in operation at any given timeto supply the entire train, it being immaterial whether the one beingused is in the leading, or trailing, car.

Fuel for starting and operating the turbines is carried in tanks (notshown) located below the floor of the car and air for the turbinesenters through a two-way scoop 34 in the side of the air compartment andpasses into the turbine intakes through a filter system 35 and 36.Exhaust gases from the turbines is discharged by conduits 37, 38 and 39through a hatch 40 in the roof of the car while an air inlet 41 in theside of the turbine compartment provides for normal air circulation ofair outside of the turbines. An oil cooler 42 is also provided in theside of the transmission compartment 19, and electrical equipment forcontrolling the starting, operating, and stopping of the individualturbines and the train as a whole are contained in cabinets 43, 44, 45and 46.

Access to the interior of the car is possible through the two doors 47at the rear of the engineers compartment, the two rear doors 48 and thecenter vestibule door 49, and the engineer has access to the remainderof the car through door 50, leading to a side corridor 51 which includesdoors 52, 53, 54 and 55 for entering the air filter, turbine,transmission and baggage compartments respectively; a door 56communicates between the baggage and passenger compartments.

The forward end of the engineers compartment 16 is protected by a thick,curved windshield 57 of tempered, or safety glass and, just behind it,is the control desk, or console 58, which contains push button controlsfor starting and stopping the main and auxiliary gas turbines of eithertraction car, instruments for monitoring the condition of these engines,and other equipment on the train, as well as manually operable controlsfor regulating the speed of the train and braking it. A seat 59 isprovided for the engineer, and seat 60 is provided for an additionaltrain crew member. Passenger seats are indicated by numeral 61.

The speed of the main gas turbine 29 is under the control of theengineer to regulate the acceleration and running of the train and,unlike previous trains, the present system does not require theassistance of an auxiliary engine, such as an internal combustionengine, for starting from a standstill. To accomplish this, the outputshaft 30 is connected to the input shaft 62 of fluid transmission (FIG.4) carrying gear 63 which meshes with gear 64 formed on the exterior ofthe housing 65 for the impeller 66 of a fluid clutch and the impeller 67ofa fluid torque converter. Housing 65 also includes a driving gear 68for an oil pump 69 which supplies the hydraulic fluid used to operatethe transmission. The rotor 70 of the fluid coupling is mounted on ashaft 71 and, splined to one portion of this shaft is the rotor 72 ofthe torque converter. Shaft 71 also carried the rotating element 73 ofan hydrodynamic brake means comprising a fixed housing 74 and fixedblades 75. The other end of shaft 71 is splined to carry an axiallyslidable dog clutch 76 which is movable by linkage 77 between theposition shown, in engagement with floating gear 78, to an extremeposition (towards the left in FIG. 4) for engagement with anotherfloating gear 79, and an intermediate, or neutral,"position in whichneither gear is engaged. Floating gear 79 is continuously in meshingengagement with gear 80, mounted on the output shaft 81. Floating gear78 always meshes with'gear 82 on stub shaft 83 which also carries gear84, which also continuously meshes with the output gear 80.1n thisconnection, it should be realized shaft 83 does not lie in the sameplane as shafts 71 and 81, but in an angularly related plane extendingthrough the axis of shaft 71 and, that its actual position is closer toshaft 81', for the purpose of clarity, it has been necessary to show itin the drawing in a displaced position.

When the train is stopped, there will be no oil in the fluid couplingand torque converter and the clutch 76 will be in the neutral positionso that rotation of input shaft 62, due to idling of the turbine, willhave no effect on output shaft 81. To start the train the clutch 76 willbe moved to engage either gear 78 or 79 depending on the direction ofmovement desired. The engineer will move the control to increase speedwhich sets in operation automatic controls (not shown) which causes thepump 69 to introduce fluid into the torque converter through passage 84,while closing passage 85. Rotation of impeller 67 gradually increasesthe speed of rotor 72 until a condition is reached (depending on torqueand train speed) at which the speed of rotation of the rotor willapproach that of the impeller at which time the automatic controls willbegin to direct fluid from pump 69 into the chamber of the fluidcoupling through passage 86. At the same time, passage 84 will be closedand passage 85 opened, to cause drainage of the torque converter. Duringnormal runhing the coupling is used to transmit power to shaft 71, whilethe torque converter remains empty of fluid.

For decelerating the train, fluid from pump 69 will be introduced intothe hydrodynamic braking means through passage 87 to cause a drag to beplaced on the rotating blades 73, while the extent of this deceleratingdrag can be controlled by actuator 88 which varies the annular spaceseparating the two sets of blades.

1 claim:

1. A high-speed, self-propelled railway train comprising a plurality ofcars, means for supplying propulsive power for the train, each of saidcars including a pair of bogies for independently supporting each car inrolling engagement with a track system, at least one of the endmost carsof said train being a traction car, said propulsive power meanscomprising prime mover means contained in said traction car, and onengineers compartment contained in said traction car for controllingoperation of said propulsion power means and the starting, running, andstopping of the train, said prime mover means comprising, a single gasturbine engine of the variable output speed free running turbine type,variable speed ratio hydraulic transmission means connected to theoutput of said turbine, and fixed ratio transfer gear means fortransmitting power from the output of said hydraulic transmission to atleast one pair of wheels of a bogie supporting, said traction carwhereby said train can be propelled at varying speeds from a standingstop by said free running turbine.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein said hydraulic transmissionmeans includes fluid clutch means and fluid torque converter means, theinputs thereof being connected to the output of said turbine, theoutputs of the clutch and torque converter being connected to said fixedratio transfer gear means, and means for selectively introducing fluidinto and withdrawing fluid from said clutch and converter meansalternatively.

3. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein both of the endmost cars ofsaid train are traction cars of substantially identical construction,said engineers compartment in each car being disposed at one end of thecar, the traction cars being oppositely disposed with respect to eachother to position the respective engineers compartments at therespective ends of the train, said means for transmitting power from theturbine of each car to the respective pair of bogie wheels of eachtraction car including selectively engageable reversing gear means,whereby said train may be operated selectively in either direction atvarying speeds from a standing start under control of an engineer in theengineers compartments of either traction car on power supplied by thegas turbine engine of either traction car, and on power suppliedsimultaneously by the gas turbine engines of both traction cars.

4. The invention according to claim 1, wherein said power transmissionmeans also includes hydraulic braking means for decelerating the train.

5. The invention according to claim 1, wherein one of the cars of saidtrain includes an area provided with facilities for the serving ofrefreshments.

6. The invention according to claim 1, wherein said train also includesat least one turbo generator means for supplying electricity foroperation of the train.

7. The invention according to claim 6, wherein said turbo generator iscontained within said traction car.

8. The invention according to claim 6, wherein said prime mover meansand said turbo generator are contained within a common enclosedsoundproof compartment in said traction car.

9. The invention according to claim 8, wherein said turbo generatorincludes an electrical alternator.

10. The invention according to claim 9, wherein said traction car issubdivided into a pluraltiy of compartmented areas comprising:

an engineers compartment at one end of the car;

a turbine compartment disposed adjacent said engineers compartmentprovided with an air inlet and filter for the turbines, exhaust gassystem for the turbines and separate ventilating system for thecompartment;

a compartment for said power transmission system;

a service corridor running alongside the turbine and transmissioncompartments and communicating with said engineers, turbine andtransmission compartments;

a compartment for baggage;

a compartment for passengers adjacent said baggage compartment;

a toilet compartment;

a platform compartment at the other end of the car communicating withsaid passenger and toilet compartments and being provided with accessdoors for communication with the exterior sides of the car and with anadjacent car.

1. A high-speed, self-propelled railway train comprising a plurality of cars, means for supplying propulsive power for the train, each of said cars including a pair of bogies for independently supporting each car in rolling engagement with a track system, at least one of the endmost cars of said train being a traction car, said propulsive power means comprising prime mover means contained in said traction car, and on engineer''s compartment contained in said traction car for controlling operation of said propulsion power means and the starting, running, and stopping of the train, said prime mover means comprising, a single gas turbine engine of the variable output speed free running turbine type, variable speed ratio hydraulic transmission means connected to the output of said turbine, and fixed ratio transfer gear means for transmitting power from the output of said hydraulic transmission to at least one pair of wheels of a bogie supporting, said traction car whereby said train can be propelled at varying speeds from a standing stop by said free running turbine.
 2. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein said hydraulic transmission means includes fluid clutch means and fluid torque converter means, the inputs thereof being connected to the output of said turbine, the outputs of the clutch and torque converter being connected to said fixed ratio transfer gear means, and means for selectively introducing fluid into and withdrawing fluid from said clutch and converter means alternatively.
 3. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein both of the endmost cars of said train are traction cars of substantially identical construction, said engineer''s compartment in each car being disposed at one end of the car, the traction cars being oppositely disposed with respect to each other to position the respective engineer''s compartments at the respective ends of the train, said means for transmitting power from the turbine of each car to the respective pair of bogie wheels of each traction car including selectively engageable reversing gear means, whereby said train may be operated selectively in either direction at varying speeds from a standing start under control of an engineer in the engineer''s compartments of either traction car on power supplied by the gas turbine engine of either traction car, and on power supplied simultaneously by the gas turbine engines of both traction cars.
 4. The invention according to claim 1, wherein said power transmission means also includes hydraulic braking means for decelerating the train.
 5. The invention according to claim 1, wherein one of the cars of said train includes an area provided with facilities for the serving of refreshments.
 6. The invention according to claim 1, wherein said train also includes at least one turbo generator means for supplying electricity for operation of the train.
 7. The invention according to claim 6, wherein said turbo generator is contained within said traction car.
 8. The invention according to claim 6, wherein said prime mover means and said turbo generator are contained within a common enclosed soundproof compartment in said traction car.
 9. The invention according to claim 8, wherein said turbo generator includes an electrical alternator.
 10. The invention according to claim 9, wherein said traction car is subdivided into a pluraltiy of compartmented areas comprising: an engineer''s compartment at one end of the car; a turbine compartment disposed adjacent said engineer''s compartment provided with an air inlet and filter for the turbines, exhaust gas system for the turbines and separate ventilating system for the compartment; a compartment for said power transmission system; a service corridor running alongside the turbine and transmission compartments and communicating with said engineer''s, turbine and transmission compartments; a compartment for baggage; a compartment for passengers adjacent said baggage compartment; a toilet compartment; a platform compartment at the other end of the car communicating with said passenger and toilet compartments and being provided with access doors for communication with the exterior sides of the car and with an adjacent car. 